Fire danger rating and fire behavior prediction in the United States

Abstract

For the seven year period from 1998 to 2004, an average of almost 79,000 fires per year on U.S. Federal and State land burned a yearly average of over 22,000 km2. An average of 1 billion US dollars was spent on suppression each year by the Federal agencies alone. Variation in climate, vegetation, and population across the U.S. leads to significant differences in the timing of the fire season and in predominate fire cause. Fire danger rating and fire behavior prediction systems are used to support fire management decision-making in fire prevention, fire suppression, and fire use. The U.S. National Fire Danger Rating System is based on current, historical, and forecast weather data. Selection of the most appropriate index can be based on the relationship to fire occurrence. The WFAS Wildland Fire Assessment System is an Internet system that provides maps of fire potential based on a network of fire weather stations and on remote sensing. Fire behavior prediction systems use additional information on fuel, terrain and weather. Specific fire danger and fire behavior systems are described. Ongoing research and development is briefly discussed.

Citation

Andrews, Patricia L. 2005. Fire danger rating and fire behavior prediction in the United States. In: Proceedings of Fifth NRIFD Symposium: International Symposium on Forest Fire Protection; 2005 November 30-December 2; Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo, Japan: National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster. p. 106-117.